by Gudrun Bowers | 17, Feb 2020
Tuesday 17th March 7.30pm at the bookshop
Just before Mothers’ Day (on Sunday 22nd March), let’s celebrate bad mothers with Stephanie Calman.
Daughter of the late well-loved humorist and cartoonist Mel Calman, Stephanie is the author of six books including the bestselling Confessions of a Bad Mother. Her latest, Confessions of a Bad Mother – the Teenage Years, published by Pan Macmillan, is full of witty and wry observations on life with teenagers, and is a must-read for parents and grandparents alike – and probably should be read by teenagers themselves!
Ticket includes a glass or two of wine, and ticket price of £5 is redeemable against book purchase.
Stephanie Calman is the founder of the Bad Mothers Club website and the author of six previous books including the bestselling Confessions of a Bad Mother. She created the hit Channel 4 sitcom Dressing For Breakfast and has appeared on many TV shows including Have I Got News For You and The Wright Stuff. She has also written for most British newspapers and magazines including the Daily Telegraph, Observer, Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ and Harpers & Queen, and has contributed to a wide variety of radio programmes, including Woman’s Hour and The Today Programme. She is married to the author Peter Grimsdale.
by Gudrun Bowers | 17, Feb 2020
On Saturday 14th March at 11 am, we have a lovely event for younger children with up-and-coming illustrator Alice McKinley. Alice will read her book ‘Nine Lives Newton’ and lead a fun draw-along session.
Alice’s charmingly funny picture book debut ‘Nine Lives Newton’ is released by Simon & Schuster Children’s books in March.
Featuring wonderfully exuberant illustrations, the book tells the story of Newton, the dog who thinks he has nine lives and infinite luck. And if Newton has nine lives, then that means he can do all his favourite things but be MUCH more daring….but what if Newton’s got it all wrong and he’s not quite as invincible as he thinks he is?
Tickets are just £3 for children (accompanying adults are free) and the ticket price is redeemable against purchase of ‘Nine Lives Newton’.
Age guide 4-9 years.
by Gudrun Bowers | 13, Feb 2020
Half term kids event. Tuesday 18th February at 2.30pm.
Join us for environmentally-themed stories & crafts with author and designer Zoe Tucker.
Zoe’s picture book ‘Greta and the Giants’ tells the story of Greta Thunberg’s environmental mission, re-imagining Greta as a forest child struggling against giants who are chopping down all the trees.
Zoe will read stories and help children get busy making an environmentally-themed crafty project!
Perfect for ages 4-8.
Ticket price £3 redeemable against a book.
Free refreshments provided.
by Gudrun Bowers | 21, Jan 2020
BOOK SIGNING AND CHARACTER MEET AND GREET. Saturday 1st February from 11.30am. Booking Essential.
To celebrate 20 years of the Acorn Wood books, we have a very special visitor on February 1st! Postman Bear will be making an appearance at the Steyning Bookshop, accompanied by his creator, Julia Donaldson! We will have Acorn Wood themed games and activities, free refreshments for children, and of course Julia will be meeting fans to sign books purchased at the shop.
To book your place, either call the shop on 01903 812062, pop in, or use our NEW ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM! This event is essentially free – with a book purchase. To allow for online booking, we will charge £7 per family group. A family group can consist of either 1 or 2 adults and up to 3 children. This will entitle you to a confirmed place at the signing. Your £7 payment will be deducted from the price of the Julia D book/s that you purchase on the day. The Steyning Bookshop will have a full range of all Julia’s books on sale for signing, including of course, all the lovely Acorn Wood books! We regret that attendees are not permitted to bring books purchased elsewhere to be signed by Julia. Booking will be in timed half hour slots, starting at 11.30am.
The 11.30, 12 and 12.30 slots are full, we are booking into afternoon slots now. Please give us a ring on 01903 812062 if this link does not work or the slot has sold out without us noticing!
2 pm slot.
2.30pm slot
The delightful Acorn Wood series are some of our very favourite picture books for pre-schoolers. With their simple rhyming stories, charming illustrations by Axel Scheffler and fun flaps to peek under on every page, they are a perfect introduction into Julia and Axel’s world. The original four stories are Postman Bear, Fox’s Socks, Hide and Seek Pig, and Rabbit’s Nap, which have all been re-issued as smart new anniversary editions by Macmillan to celebrate 20 years in print! Even more excitingly, Julia and Axel are creating four new stories set to be published in 2021 and 2022.
by Gudrun Bowers | 20, Jan 2020
On Monday 27th January 2020 at 11.30am we have a very special story time for little people! Actors from the brilliant Freckle Theatre production of Zog, which will be at the Capitol in Horsham next week, are kindly joining us at the bookshop for a story time session.
Expect much raucous roarsome fun! Perfect for pre-schoolers. Please book in advance so we know how many little people to expect. Only £3, redeemable against book purchase.
by Gudrun Bowers | 6, Jan 2020
Tuesday 11th February 7.30pm at the Gluck Studio.
We are really excited to have finally bagged a visit from Brian Bilston, the hilarious poet and novelist, frequently described as the ‘Accidental Poet Laureate of Twitter’. Brian’s novel ‘Diary of a Somebody’ is just out in paperback and has been short-listed for the Costa Book Award, First Novel Category.
‘Diary of a Somebody’ is the achingly funny story of a year in the life of .. ‘Brian Bilston’. It’s January 1st and Brian Bilston’s life needs to change. His ex-wife has taken up with a new man, a motivational speaker and marketing guru to boot; he seems to constantly disappoint his long-suffering son; and at work he is drowning in a sea of spreadsheets and management jargon. Brian’s resolution is to write a poem every day; poetry will be his salvation. But there is an obstacle to his happiness in the form of Toby Salt, his arch nemesis in the Poetry Group and rival suitor to Liz, Brian’s new poetic inspiration. When Toby goes missing, Brian is the number one suspect… Part tender love story, part murder mystery, part coruscating description of a wasted life, and interspersed with some of the funniest poems about the mundane and the profound, Diary of a Somebody is a unique, warm, and hilarious novel.
Brian Bilston has been dubbed ‘the Banksy of Poetry’ – he has kept his identity secret and stumbled into poetry via composing short poems on Twitter, eventually racking up more than 50,000 followers. His first volume of poetry ‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ was released in 2017, and ‘Diary of a Somebody’ came out in 2019. His powerful poem ‘Refugees’ has also been released as a beautifully illustrated children’s picture book. His clever, wry poems can take the shape of Christmas trees or Venn diagrams, he can poke fun at grammar pedants, and take the piss out of Jeremy Clarkson, but also tap into profound depths.
Tickets are £12 to include a paperback copy of ‘Diary of a Somebody’, plus wine & nibbles. Brian’s other books will also be on sale.
Pop into the shop, give us a ring on 01903 812062 , or book online – we think this will be a popular one so buy soon!
Book online here
‘Glorious. I will be astonished if I read a more original, more inventive or funnier novel this year.’ – Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt
by Gudrun Bowers | 6, Jan 2020
An Evening with Elly Griffiths, Wednesday 26th February at 7.30pm, at the Gluck Studio.
We are thrilled that Elly Griffiths has kindly agreed to talk to us about her new novel The Lantern Men – the 12th installment in her hugely popular Ruth Galloway series.
The Lantern Men sees our favorite forensic archaelogist Ruth Galloway, who has a new job, home and partner, and is no longer working for North Norfolk police, lured back to the Fens by by convicted murderer Ivor March. Ivor has offered the police a deal – he will reveal the location of 4 more bodies – but only if Ruth does the digging. The bodies are buried near a village bordering the fens, said to be haunted by the Lantern Men, mysterious figures holding lights that lure travellers to their deaths. Is Ivor March himself a lantern man, luring Ruth back to Norfolk? What is his plan, and why is she so crucial to it? And are the killings really over?
We can’t wait to find out more about the background to this chilling story!
Tickets are £8, ticket price includes wine & nibbles, and entitle the ticket bearer to money off a signed hardback copy of The Lantern Men.
To book, either pop into the shop, call us on 01903 812062, or book online here:
by Gudrun Bowers | 27, Nov 2019
Steyning resident, historian, and writer David Boyle is the author of numerous books on a huge range of subjects – from history and economics, through alternative currencies, grass-roots politics and parenting in the computer age, to allotments and fairies!
We are thrilled that David has agreed to introduce his latest book, TickBox, at an evening event at the lovely Gluck Studio on Thursday 30th January. 7.30pm.
Tickbox is a powerful expose of modern ‘Tickbox’ culture – that is; official or corporate incompetence, whereby a company / organisation will ‘tick the box’ but fail to act. It is increasingly used to describe the gap between official spin and reality.
In the book, David uncovers the insidious philosophy of automation and the misuse of data which lies behind this tickbox culture. It makes our public services less effective – and makes them soar in costs – it lies behind so many stark injustices and disasters, from Grenfell Tower to the deportation of the Windrush generation. It vacuums up the resources of the NHS pursuing pointless targets, badgers us to evaluate every purchase or experience, and consumes vast swathes of TIME!
Always arguing for the human spirit against technocratic reductionism, David suggests a series of ways out – starting with recognising the danger and calling it out for what it is – a massive system failure, corroding our lives and our ability, as human beings, to act on the world!
Come and hear all about ‘TickBox’ distilled into an hour-long talk, with free wine & refreshments.
Ticket Price £5. Ticket bearers entitled to £5 off book.
![An Evening with Novelist Jess Kidd]()
by Gudrun Bowers | 27, Nov 2019
We are delighted to welcome novelist Jess Kidd to Steyning, on Thursday 23rd January 2020, for a literary evening at the Gluck Studio.
Jess will be discussing her latest novel Things in Jars, alongside her previous novels, The Hoarder and Himself.
Jess Kidd has been praised for her unique fictional voice. She was brought up in London as part of a large family from County Mayo, and her work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’ Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder (published as Mr. Flood’s Last Resort in the U.S.), was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. She is published by Canongate.
Jess is currently working on her fourth novel and first children’s book. She is also developing her own original TV projects with leading U.K. and international TV producers.
This is an event in conjunction with our bookshop bookgroups, which is also open to the public. ALL WELCOME
Public tickets are £10 this includes a paperback copy of Things in Jars (or another of Jess’s books) plus wine and nibbles.
by Gudrun Bowers | 27, Nov 2019
On Wednesday 4th December from 6-9pm Steyning High Street becomes a winter wonderland! With street entertainers, live music, a candle-lit procession, Father Christmas in his vintage transport, and a host of wondrous stalls selling all manner of artisan gifts, plus delicious, tempting food stalls, and, of course, most of the high street shops open for business.
As always, at the bookshop we will be dispensing Rob’s legendary home-made mulled wine, to accompany Sara’s famously melt-in-the-mouth mince pies, and this year our guest author is Julia Donaldson!
Although the shop is open all evening from 6pm-9pm, Julia will only be signing at the shop from 7.45-9pm, we calculate this is enough time for about 30 families to meet her, so, if you want to be SURE you’ll get a chance to buy a book and get it signed & dedicated in person, we recommend you give us a ring on 01903 812062 to book your place.
Julia’s latest book is The Smeds & the Smoos (£12.99 hardback), a hilarious and heart-warming inter-galactic love story – she’ll be signing this and all her previous books.
